Ecommerce in ChatGPT and AI search: how to get AI to recommend your store
When someone asks AI what to buy, they get a short list. Which AI shopping surfaces are open in your country, what to measure, and what to do about it.
Short answer
As of September 2026, the merchant programs of OpenAI (ChatGPT), Perplexity and Copilot operate only in the United States, so a store selling in Latin America can't join them today. What is open: Google Merchant Center free listings in Argentina, Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Mexico, Peru and Uruguay, and the engines' own answers when someone asks what to buy. Refractia's AI Commerce module measures how often AI names your store in those answers, in what position, and where the click goes.
Why shopping questions already go through AI
A purchase can start with a question: "Which refrigerator is right for a family of four in Argentina?" AI doesn't return ten links; it returns a short list and decides who makes it. It works like a store shelf, and you need to know whether you are on it and where.
The scale is the reason to measure it: ChatGPT has 900 million weekly users (OpenAI, February 2026) and Google AI Mode has more than 1 billion monthly users (Alphabet, Q2 2026). Refractia doesn't measure AI Mode as a separate surface; it does measure Google AI Overviews, along with ChatGPT, Claude, Gemini and Meta AI.
What AI Commerce measures
AI Commerce turns on when a brand is declared as an online store; brands that aren't declared see none of it. It measures four things:
- AI Shelf: how often AI names you when someone asks what to buy, and in what position, always shown as "k of n."
- Destination (click leakage): when AI names you, whether the link goes to your store, to a reseller or marketplace, or can't be attributed. What can't be attributed is reported on its own instead of being guessed.
- Store readability: how legible your product pages are to AI.
- Surface eligibility: a card showing which AI shopping surfaces are open in the store's country.
What is open in each country (September 2026)
| Surface | Where it is available | What it means for a store in Latin America |
|---|---|---|
| OpenAI merchant program (ChatGPT) | United States only | No sign-up for stores in the region. What counts is whether ChatGPT names you and where it links. |
| Perplexity merchant program | United States only | Same situation. Refractia doesn't measure Perplexity as an engine. |
| Copilot merchant program | United States only | Same situation. Refractia doesn't measure Copilot as an engine. |
| Google Merchant Center free listings | Argentina, Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Mexico, Peru and Uruguay | The feed-based surface you can get into today. |
| Answers from ChatGPT, Claude, Gemini, Google AI Overviews and Meta AI | Wherever each engine is used | There is no sign-up: they name you or they don't. This is what AI Shelf measures. |
Verified on September 25, 2026. These are third-party programs and they change, which is why AI Commerce shows eligibility per country instead of taking it for granted.
If your store sells in the United States, those three merchant programs are open in your market, and the eligibility card shows them that way. Either way, the answers themselves are open to every store: whether ChatGPT names you, and where it sends the click, is what AI Shelf and Destination measure.
Practical steps for an online store
- 01
Turn on Google Merchant Center free listings
If you sell in Argentina, Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Mexico, Peru or Uruguay, this is the feed-based shopping surface that is open today. Keep the price and stock in the feed identical to the ones on the page.
- 02
Put price, stock and features in the text of each product page
Not only in images. Text is what a crawler can read. AI Commerce includes a check of how legible your product pages are to AI.
- 03
Confirm that AI crawlers can get in
A robots.txt that allows them isn't enough if your CDN or firewall (for example Cloudflare or Imperva) blocks them. Refractia's Technical Workshop detects it.
- 04
Answer need questions, not only product questions
People also ask about the problem ("what should I use to heat a studio apartment?") rather than the category. Buying guides and comparisons on your site give AI search something to cite.
- 05
Check where the click goes
If AI names you but the link goes to a marketplace, the sale may not go through your store. Destination shows how often that happens, so you can decide where to strengthen your own channel.
- 06
Measure before and after
A first scan as a baseline and another after the changes. Each scan is started by a person; it is not continuous monitoring.
Frequently asked questions
How do I show up in ChatGPT Shopping from outside the United States?
As of September 2026, OpenAI's merchant program operates only in the United States. From other markets, what you can work on is ChatGPT naming you and linking to your store in its answers, and that is what AI Shelf measures.
Does Google Merchant Center work in Latin America?
Yes. Google Merchant Center free listings are live in Argentina, Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Mexico, Peru and Uruguay (September 2026).
What is AI Shelf?
It measures how often AI names your store when someone asks what to buy, and in what position, shown as k of n.
Does AI send the click to my store or to a marketplace?
It depends on the answer. Destination separates links to your store, links to resellers or marketplaces, and links that can't be attributed.
Does AI Commerce work for any brand?
No. It turns on only for brands declared as online stores; the rest of Refractia works the same for every brand.
Keep reading
Find out whether AI recommends your store
Your customers already ask AI what to buy; today you don't know what it tells them. We show you what ChatGPT, Claude, Gemini, Google and Meta AI say about your store and your competitors, free and with no commitment.